Two-way flush valve mechanism



June 18, 1963 R. M. NARDONE 3,093,833

TWO-WAY FLUSH VALVE MECHANISM Filed July 25, 1961 2 Sheets-Shea?l 1 BY M lq TTOPNEY June 18w 1963 R. M. NARDONE 3,093,833

TWO-WAY FLUSH VALVE MECHANISM Fiec July 25,. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. Pc3/w50 M. NneDoA/E BY M HTTOP/EY United States Patent O 3,093,833 Patented June 18, 1963 ice 3,093,833 TWO-WAY FLUSH VALVE MECHANISM Romeo Morton Nardone, 19 Ox Bow Lane, Summit,

Filed July 25, 1961, Ser. No. 126,685 2 Claims. (Cl. 4-67) This invention relates to flush .toilets of the type having a gravity tank from which flows iiushing water.

A typical toilet tank, as specied, capable of meeting todays standard practice, generally contains 6 to 8 `gallons of water. in many instances it is possible .to conduct a satisfactory iiushing operating with the use of much less t Yprovide a L normal water line d6 and cut oi the water when the level thereof rises to said water line. Y

There is an outlet pipe 17 leading to the toilet bowl which is of conventional construction. There is a valve seat 18 on the pipe 17 and a :connected overflow pipe 19. A hollow rubber ball valve 21 normally engages the seat 18 and stops the liow of water to the pipe 17, that is, during periods of non-use. The ball valve l21 may be conventional construction and have some buoyancy. It may be actuated in a conventional manner by means of its stem 22 extending upwardly therefrom and passing through an appropriate aperture in stem `guide 23 which may be clamped to the overflow pipe 19. There is a link 24 connecting the upper end lportion of the stem 22 with a ball valve actuating lever 25 pivoted with respect to the tank about a stud 26 projecting from a tank-secured bracket 27. -One arm of lever is provided with counterweights 28 so it tends to approximately balance about the stud 26.

The mechanism which enables my invention to allow for the discharge of only a fractional part of a tank full of water will now be described in more detail. 'Commenc- An object of my invention is to provide means whereby i i when the fluid level in the tank lowers to a selected elevation, the control valve may be replaced on its seat and the flow of water from the tank terminate-d.

A further object of my invention is and improved automatic means to move the flush valve back on its seat over the outlet pipe when the water in the tank is at some predetermined level thereabove.

Another object of my invention is to achieve economy to provide novel 1I of the water consumption by automatic means including a l iioat coactive in a novel way with the flush valve actuating lever to accelerate closing of the flush valve. Theseand other objects and advantages will become Lapparent from the following detailed description when `taken withV the accompanying drawings. derstood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration `and do not define the `scope or lirnit-s of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

yFIGURE l is a vertical sectional view of apparatus embodying my invention, on the -line :1--1 of FIGURE 3 in the direction of .the arrows, parts being shown in elevation.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the upper left hand portion of the tank, showing the operating handle.

It will be uny FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view, on the line 3-3 of FIGURE `1 in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, on the line 4--4 of FlGURE l in the direction of the arrows.

lFIGURE 5 is a fragmentary elevational view, with parts in section on the -line `5-5 of FlGUREl in the direction l of the arrows.

FIGURE 6 is a `fragmentary elevational view, corrertsponding lwith FIGURE 5 but showing a modification.

Referring to the drawings in detail and rst considering the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the FIGURES l to 5, inclusive, there is shown a conventional toilet tank 11 normally closed by a cover 12 and having a water supply pipe 13 -shown fragmentarily. The valve 20 controlling the vflow of water from the supply pipe 13 is conventional and not here fully illustrated. Flow through said valve 20 is -controlled in the usual manner by a float 14 carried by a lever or operating arm 15, in order to admit water from the pipe 13 through the valve 20 to the tank 11 when the level therein drops below the 1i. tured wall portion of the tank 1.1, Iwhich may ing with the operating handle 29, shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, means are provided for pivoting said handle -with respect to the tank 11 and allowing for operating from a neutral or horizontal position to an upper normal operating position or to a lower econornzer position. The handle 29 desirably has a shaft 3.1 integral therewith, the inner end portion 32 of which is desirably square or non-circular in cross section and carries thereon a drivin-g arm or link 33.

The arm 33 is operatively connected to the ball valve lever 25 by means of a link 34 which has one end pivoted to the lever -25 by means of a pin 35. 'I'he other end of said link `34 is pivotively connected tothe arm 33 by means of a pin -30 to form a toggle joint between arm and link. The pivoting of the lever 25 to the stud 26 is maintained by -a cotter pin or other retaining device -36 which holds a collar 37 thereon, between which collar and the bracket 27 the lever 25 pivots.

The bracket 27 has a non-circular or square section 38 which lits a corresponding hole in the tank 11 and the bracket is secured against a boss 39 on the inside wall of said .tank by a bushing 4l threaded thereinto, which bushing also serves as a lbearing for the shaft 31. Suitable washers 42 and 43 are desirably used between the aperbe of porcelain, and the .secured members.

The link 24 is desirably attached to the long end or arm portion of the lever 25 as by having an upper looped portion 44 passed through a selected aperture 45 near the right hand end, as viewed in FIGURE 1. The lower end portion of the link 24 is looped at 46 to slidably connect with the stem 22. Slidable motion therebetween is limited upwardly by a looped upper portion 47 of the stem 22 and downwardly by a washer 48 supported on the stem 22 by raised or upset portions 49 thereof. These portions 49 are placed at a position selected so that they are high enough to, at Ithe proper part of the sequence of operations, transmit force from the link 24 to the ball valve 21.

There is a rod 51 with a longitudinally elongated opening 52 in its upper end portion and through which the pin 30 passes to thereby provide for `support with lost `motion therebetween. This lost motion allows for clock- -seated atany'time, during either economy or `full or normal indicated 4at 54 to allow for r'sliding on said rod until stopped by a collar 55.

This collar 55 may .be .set permanently at a selected location, 'butit-is desirably adjustable and secured in an adjusted `position on the rod 51 -by means of a set screw 56. The setting of the collar is in accordance with the fractional part of the Jwater in the tank which is y'to be employed upon moving the handle 29 counterclockwise, or tothe position 57 of -FIGURE 2. Desirably threaded on the lower end of the rod 51, in -order to allow for adjustment, is an-extension 58 which normally restson the bottom of the tank i111 to limit downward movement of the rod 51 beyond a predetermined neutral position.

Describing the operation of the flush mechanism, the toggle 33, 34,730 is normally'horizontalas shown in FIG- URE l and acts on the lever-25 after the fashion of a .bellcrank lever, and in order to use lonly a predetermined fraction of the water in the tank, the handle 29 ispushed or rotated lcounterclockwise, fthat is, -to the .position designated 57 in FIGURE 2. This rotates the shaft 31 and arm 33 thereon, breaking the toggle upwardly and lifting the long end portion of `th'eflever 25 and the rod 51. Thisoperation `of the'lever 25 lifts the link 24 toits maximum point, permitted bythe guide 23, and unseats theball valve 21, allowing water to Vflow to vthe pipe 17. As water pours out,.its level drops, and with it the oat 53, which ywas originally `fully vvsubmerged, until said float contacts'the collar r55 on'theerod 51. The float then stops, but places 4no force on the :collar until it begins to be exposed :by 'the receding water. 'When fully exposed, its entire weight is lappliedz'to return-the rod '51 land the arm 33, the link `34, connecting :pin 30 and lever 25 to their voriginal positions, forcing the klink 24 to contact -the washer 48 and reseating the ball valve 21 to stop the release of water. yThe Vcollar 55 may be located lalong-the rod51 luntil a suitableposition has been obtained for the amount ofk water to be used. The lower 'the position of the collar 55,-themore water isused.

In normal operation, for a'ful-l flush the handle 29 is rotated clockwise, or-to the position 59 in FIGURE 2, rotating the shaft 31 and its arm 3-3 clockwise tobreakthe toggle downward and again raise the longend of the lever 25 and ball 21 ofr its seat. The rod 51, in this instance, is not lifted but'remains xed, since it cannot v-rnove down, as the pin 30 slides down along the elongated slot 52. When the level of the water gets to about the level of the lball valve 21, the latter falls `by its own Weight, assisted by the outrushing water, and reseats. This reseating ybrings its stem 22 and link 24 to neutral position, 'unaffected by any operation ofthe :lloat 53.

It will also be understood that the ball 21 may be renormal operation, by `manually returning the handle '29 to normal or neutralV position. The weights 28 oit-set the unbalance of the long arm ofthe lever 25 and link 24. The balance may be adjusted by moving the bolt 28a carrying weights 28 along a slot61 in a short or wide end portion of the lever 25. If it were not for this counterbalancing, the ylong right hand end portion of the lever 25 would drop, forcing the ball 21 to reseat.

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention illusvttrated in FIGURE 6, there is disclosed a modification vin ywhich an annular Weight 62 is placed around the ball valve 21. The weight is so chosen that it overcomes, by :a slight amount, the buoyancy of the conventionally hollow ball valve 21, so that said valve will just sink in the water when fully submerged. In order to neutralize the weight 62 the amount of the weight 28 to balance the lever 25 is correspondingly increased.

In operating the tank -11 to use only a predetermined fraction of the water normally hterein, the ball valve 21 with its weight 62 is lifted by the link 2:4 and stem 22the distance, as in the preceding embodiment, upon .swinging the handle 29 counterclockwise. It remains in this up position until the float 53 is exposed vthan .when operating conventionally.

lever to said'ballvalve, a

by the water and its -weight `straightens out the .links 33 and 34 forming the toggle joint, to lower the right hand end of the lever 25.

The link 24 then slides -down `along the stern 22 and as it does so the weight 62 assists in lowering the ball valve `21 to seat it. lIn accordance with this construction, the vball valve 21 and stem assembly move freely straight down without being forced sidewise by :action of the link 24 on the Washer 48, Itending to bind the stem 22 in the 'guide V23. Except as speciiically described, the construction and operation ofthis embodiment is the same 'as that in accordance with the lirstembodiment.

In normal operation, since the float 53 plays no part ,in thefmovement of the lever 25 and since themechanism is balancedtabout the stud 26, the ball valve 21 will not drop `until yit is exposed by the vreceding Water. At that time, the weight `62 together with the weight of the ball valve 21 and itsstem 22 causes said valve to drop quickly on its seat 18, bringing the linkage back tofnormal position.

From the foregoing disclosure, .it will be seen that I have provided `means whereby water economy may be effected 'and theamount of economy predetermined by the setting ofthe collar `S5 on-therod 51. It will be understood that although thecollarfis shown as adjustable, the construction could be such that the collar would be fixed, thereby permitting the user to select only for `normal operation-,or a predetermined fraction of the Water normally in the tank.

It `will .beunderstood that, in. any event, a greater efli- .ciency'in theuseof the -wateris effected by my apparatus .because thelfractional vpart of the -Water used is the top part, whereby itiloWs Idown under agreater average head .It -Will also be understood .thatalthough the extension 58is shown adjustable,.it maybe xed,assuming that, the mechanism is standardized for use in tanks .-11 of uniform depth or uniform `distance from the aXis of the. stud 26 tothe bottomof the tank. Although, inthe Vembodimentof FIG- URE6, a .separate weight 62Ais `shown applied .to theball valve'2f1, I.yet Imay accomplishlthe same result by using a special 'ball .valve Such a valve would be of .correspondingly greater weight, as by'having lthicker than normal Iwalls ywitha smaller hollow interior, and thus not need eXtra weight as it would normally ,tend to slowly sink in water.

yI claim:

,1. .Inatoilet tank, a water supply pipe, `an inlet valve, a iloat controlling the'floW of Water from said pipe through said valve, an'outlet pipe, a Vball valve normally closing said outlet pipe, mechanism including a lever pivotally vmounted in said tank, aflink .connecting one Varm of said handle oscillatably mounted in said tank, means connecting said handle to said lever `for `liftingsaid ball valve and permitting escape of Water in said tankthrough `said outlet4 pipe, and another float and .means other than-saidlever connecting said float directly to thelast-named means to return the ball valve to its seat when a selected fraction of the water in saidtank has been discharged through said outlet pipe.

2. In combination with a flush tank having an outlet kpipewithra valve seat, a ball valve in said tank and normally tending to sink in Water in the tank seat on .said valve seat to close said outlet pipe during periods of nonuse, a stern upstanding 4from said valve, a ball valvelever, a pivot bracket pivotally mounting said lever intermediate its ends in said tank, a link with its upper end portion connected to one arm portion of said lever and its lower kend portion Vslidable on the upper end portion of said stern, means at the upper end of said stem engaged by the `lower end portion of said link for lifting said stem and ball valve upon swinging of the leverin one direction, a counter-weight on the other arm of said lever, an actuating vhandle for said lever pivotally mounted on said tank, a

aosasaa one end to said lever above said pivotal mounting thereof, a pivot pin connecting the other ends of said toggle links so that the toggle is normally horizontal with the lever pivots in vertical alignment for raising the valve ball so that upon turning the handle in either direction the ball valve is raised and the pivot pin is raised or lowered, a rod mounted for limited vertical movement and extending downwardly from said pin between the handle end and mounting having a longitudinally elongated opening in the upper end thereof and through which said pin passes to provide lost motion between said pin and said rod on downward swinging of said toggle links, but when the pin is raised to lift the rod, allowing said rod to exert a downward pull on `said pin, a iioat vertically slidable on said rod and normally submerged at the surface of water in the tank, and means for limiting downward movement of said oat on said rod as the level of the water descends, whereby when the handle is turned in one direction to lift the pivot pin and break the toggle and thus lift the ball valve,

release of water by said ball valve is checked when the iloat is exposed by lowering of the water level and its weight is applied t0 said rod to return said toggle to its horizontal position, causing the link to move downwardly on said stem and consequent reseating of the ball valve, while when the handle is turned in the other direction, said rod is not moved and the iloat has no effect.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,613,670 Meighan Jan. 11, 1927 1,710,827 Johnson Apr. 30, 1929 1,992,381 Lyons Feb. 26, 1935 2,514,062 Hoerig July 4, 1950 2,583,468 Castellano Ian. 22, 1952 2,754,521 Marcum July 17, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 282,981 Switzerland Sep-t. 1, 1952 

1. IN A TOILET TANK, A WATER SUPPLY PIPE, AN INLET VALVE, A FLOAT CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF WATER FROM SAID PIPE THROUGH SAID VALVE, AN OUTLET PIPE, A BALL VALVE NORMALLY CLOSING SAID OUTLET PIPE, MECHANISM INCLUDING A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN SAID TANK, A LINK CONNECTING ONE ARM OF SAID LEVER TO SAID BALL VALVE, A HANDLE OSCILLATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID TANK, MEANS CONNECTING SAID HANDLE TO SAID LEVER FOR LIFTING SAID BALL VALVE AND PERMITTING ESCAPE OF WATER IN SAID TANK THROUGH SAID OUTLET PIPE, AND ANOTHER FLOAT AND MEANS OTHER THAN SAID LEVER CONNECTING SAID FLOAT DIRECTLY TO THE LAST-NAMED MEANS TO RETURN THE BALL VALVE TO ITS SEAT WHEN A SELECTED FRACTION OF THE WATER IN SAID TANK HAS BEEN DISCHARGED THROUGH SAID OUTLET PIPE. 